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April 2015
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Congress
Special
He acknowledged the role Grain SA is playing through its Farm-
er Development programme saying they have set a benchmark
through the valuable training and mentorship which has been de-
livered. This conviction prompted him to make a call on the Grain
Trusts to continue with their partnerships with Grain SA to have
sustainable production during this time of transition as this coopera-
tion is already delivering excellent results.
He recognised that government not only needs to give producers
confidence to continue producing by creating a policy environment
which is conducive to food production; it also needs to address
issues which will guarantee that producers have a chance to com-
pete globally.
Zokwana confirmed that 50% of our wheat consumption is im-
ported and that this needs to be addressed so that local capacity
for production and consequently job creation is improved. This crisis
in the wheat industry was addressed further later in Congress.
Mr Richard Krige, from the southern Cape, proposed that even if
wheat was produced at no profit, there would still be positive spin-
offs amounting to R5 billion plus into the local economy rather than
us helping other countries’ economies to thrive!
The minister said that government is concerned about farm
security. “The state wants to protect you. These people are criminals
who will kill anyone.”
He called upon producers not to be discouraged, saying he is hope-
ful we can progress to a place where we forget about the language
we speak and the colour of our skins and look at ourselves as pro-
ducers. “I’d like to see your kids falling in love with farming and
we can only do this if farming is made fashionable by those who
make legislation and those who farm.”
I’m not ashamed to say that there were a few wet eyes among
those listening to his closing words: “Ek wil luister, ek wil saam met
julle wees, ek wil verstaan. Your fears are our fears; your troubles
are our troubles – and together we can make a better South Africa!”
Kip Tom
Continuing the theme of sustainable production, a producer from In-
diana (USA), Mr Kip Tom, shared his vision of the role data science
will play:
towards insuring sustainability;
protecting the environment; and
increasing productivity and feeding 9,3 billion people by 2050.
Clearly we need a revolution in the way we do agriculture. This
will be achieved through biotechnology; informatics – remote moni-
tors and sensor controls in our equipment; and now “cognitive
computing” – the ability to use information from the past to make
changes in the future.
Technology is becoming more affordable and easier to use to meas-
ure, monitor and control. Satellites or drones will be flown over
a field and within hours we’ll have the know-how to remedy a prob-
lem. We must embrace those tools – adapt or die – as we can’t do
things the same way as in the past. We need to cultivate the passion
to do what is right for the future.
Roelf Meyer
Mr Roelf Meyer chairs
In Transformation Initiative
promoting
the concept of dialogue towards finding solutions for conflict situa-
tions. They are currently promoting dialogue in South Africa in the
context of the National Development Plan (NDP), food security and
land reform.
They have held three imbizos along with the secretary general of
the ANC, where the focus is on bringing different views closer to
each other, accepting different mind sets, addressing issues and
trying to discover commonalities. The goal is to establish a “War
Room” where government, the private sector and the farming
community can debate issues.
Mr John Gibbs, a KwaZulu-Natal dairy producer, has been contract-
ed to look at models where the NDP can be practically applied. He
“
At the Grain SA Producer of the
Year awards ceremony, minister
Zokwana undertook to become a
champion of agriculture – and he
has done so. I am of the opinion
that for the first time we have a
man who we can do business with
– who is honest and straight.
– Louw Steytler, chairman of Grain SA
“
Sustainable grain production
amidst land reform analysed
2: Kip Tom
3: Roelf Meyer
4: John Gibbs
5: Dr Marinda Visser
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